Enemy reaction, Super Bowl 2026: New England Patriots (with the added bonus of the collapse of the 49ers!)

The Seattle Seahawks started their regular season by losing to the San Francisco 49ers, ended their regular season by winning the NFC West and the top seed 49ers in Santa Clara, started their playoffs by beating the 49ers at Lumen Field, and ended it with a Super Bowl triumph over the New England Patriots…in Santa Clara. A storybook ending to a landmark season for the Seahawks, who now own two Lombardi Trophies.

This is the final Enemy Reaction of the 2025 season. Traditionally, I do Enemy Reaction for the Super Bowl, no matter who is playing. The fact that the Seahawks went in and won it makes it the sweetest of all. While Chair of Pats will be the focus of their live reactions on the game feed, you know I’ll be pulling from Niners Nation and other SB Nation NFL sites to provide some insight into which fan bases supported which team.

Cooper Kupp makes the first practice basket (3-0 SEA)

Bonus reaction from 49ers, Vikings, Bills and Broncos fans!

Bonus reactions from 49ers, Vikings, Jets and Raiders fans

Bonus reaction from Jets, Giants, 49ers and Rams fans!

Bonus reaction from 49ers, Jets, Bills, Dolphins and Broncos fans!

Bonus collapse of the 49ers!

Post-game: the Patriots defense deserved a better fate (Matt Vautour, Mass Live)

The Patriots gave up 29 points on Sunday. Seven of them returned an interception for a touchdown. Seven others were on a short field created by a strip-sack. Everything else was a basket.

New England’s defense played a huge role in getting the Patriots into this game and they played well enough to give them a chance to win it.

They played championship defense. They deserved better.

They made some terrific tackles, athletic pass breakups and kept the pressure on Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold. But they will leave empty-handed.

Late in the third quarter, the Patriots were fortunate to only be down 12-0 with the ball. Thanks to the outstanding effort from the defense, they had the opportunity to make it a game with good coaching.

But when Maye dropped back to pass on third-and-6 from the Patriots’ 44, Derick Hall crossed the line and punched the ball away. Hall recovered it at the New England 37. Five plays later, the Seahawks were in the end zone with a 19-0 lead and the game was almost over.

For this reason, Christian Gonzalez’s incredible evening will remain forgotten by history. He had three TD passes, including two diving lunges that saved touchdowns.

Postgame recap: The lack of adjustments on offense was surprising (Ian Logue, PatsFans.com)

As it stood, the Seahawks were making do with rookie Will Campbell and fellow rookie Jared Wilson, both of whom spent all night getting battered. So the fact that there was no adjustment was probably one of the most surprising developments of the evening.

Campbell is another player who, like Maye, had a good year before getting injured. He hasn’t looked like himself since coming off injured reserve, and he will greatly benefit from a full offseason to get healthy and get stronger.

The same can be said for Wilson, who also needs to step up this offseason. For Wilson, the thinking is that he could be Garrett Bradbury’s future replacement at center, which will likely mean the team continues to add depth on the offensive line this offseason.

So far, it’s disappointing, but for a team that had some bad luck for most of the year, bad luck and injuries finally caught up with them. In the meantime, this is yet another young team that finished with a 2025 season that absolutely exceeded expectations, which should make what happens this offseason even more intriguing as 2026 approaches.